How to Repair a Door That is Sticking
First thing that you want to do is to inspect the door hinges. Open the door and look at the hinges. Gently lift on the door and notice to see if the hinges are loose. If the screws are loose, try to tighten them. If the screws are stripped out, then you can replace them with screws that are a 1/2 inch to 1 inch longer. Another fast way to get a screw to grab is to take a toothpick and apply would glue to it. Put the toothpick in the stripped out screw hole and let it dry completely, then snip off the excess toothpick. Now reinsert the screw and it should have a solid hold.
If the hinges are tight in the door and it is still rubbing on the doorjamb, place a block of wood on the doorjamb where the door is rubbing and hit it with a hammer. Usually just making this small adjustment will allow the door is shut smoothly. Something else that you can try is to use an adjustable wrench or vice grips and with the door closed, try bending the hinge back towards the door knob. Sometimes the small adjustment will be enough to help the door clear the jam and close properly.
To repair a door that is sticking there are a few more things you can try. You can remove the door and hinges and using a chisel to remove a small amount of wood below where the hinge sits. This could be an upper hinge or a lower hinge depending on where your door is sticking. Installing shims under the hinge can also help adjust the door so it clears the jamb.
Another thing you can do to repair a door that is sticking is sanding the area of the door that is rubbing on the jamb. You can either sand by hand, use a power sander or a hand plainer. Be sure not to remove too much surface; however, you need to remove enough surface so that when you paint the area sanded, it still closes properly.
Sanding, shimming or adjusting your door should solve the problem of it sticking and not closing properly. After reviewing each of the suggestions in this article, you should now be prepared to repair a door that is sticking.
